Mr Justice Eady is, apparently, a "quietly-spoken, shy and precise figure." He is also the most senior libel court judge in the country. Mr Eady presided over Max Mosley's successful libel action against The News of the World last year, and his strong anti-media line is apparently motivated by an intrusion of privacy suffered by the actor Gordon Kaye in 1990. Perhaps he's a big 'Allo 'Allo fan.Some readers may be aware that the well-known science writer Simon Singh was recently judged to have libelled the Bristish Chiropractic Association (BCA). Although The Times newspaper appears not to have reported the story, readers of other publications will be aware that the purported libel was Singh's claim, in an article for The Guardian, that the BCA "happily promotes bogus treatments". Whilst many people might interpret this claim to mean that the BCA promotes false treatments, the judge presiding over the case chose to provide his own interpretation, in which the "natural and ordinary meaning" of the assertion was that the BCA were being deliberately dishonest.
And the name of the judge in question? Pay attention, for I shall say this only once: Mr Justice Eady.
Another little snippet that I didn't know - thanks, Gordon.
ReplyDeletePointed that out on heresy corner a few weeks ago, go to see you are on the case big Mac.
ReplyDeleteI too believe in a few odd things, and some might say I happily promote bogus ideas, but that would be disingenuous would it not, if i sincerely held the beliefs to be true?